At a community
college graduation ceremony I attended in May, I was taken aback
by a piece of advice that the commencement speaker gave to the
graduates near the end of his speech. He declared with all
sincerity, “When you lay in bed at night, don’t forget to thank
God, or your Higher Power, or your non-belief system for
all the blessings in your life.”Yes, boys and girls, welcome to
the new age of enlightenment where even atheists must not be
excluded from bedtime prayer.
In fairness it should be noted that this particular
commencement speaker is a director for a non-profit human rights
organization that promotes inclusion and diversity, and thus he
has developed an expanded consciousness that makes him much more
sensitive to all points of view. That's why he can make a
profoundly stupid statement like, "Thank your non-belief system
for your life's blessings," and make it sound so culturally
relevant and globally responsible. Isn't that nice of him?
I’m sure there must have been a few bright-eyed, fresh-faced
atheists among the graduating class who were initially charmed by
the speaker‘s feel-good advice, but then when they tried to put it
into practice, they suddenly became as horrified as Isaac Watts at
a Dove Awards ceremony. I can hear their train of thought now:
“Thank you, Non-Belief System, for blessing me with… hey, wait a
minute! What am I DOING?! If I give thanks to an entity outside
myself, then I’m creating belief in another power, which is like
God, and I don’t believe in God, so who am I really thanking? Hoo,
boy, you almost had me there, you sly dog!"
Good grief, even an atheist with a community college education
could smell a rat.
Of course, the speaker’s advice has implications for Christians
as well. I suppose from now on we must all do our part to make the
atheist more comfortable in his pseudo-religious endeavors. For
instance, if we’re ever in the company of an atheist who sneezes,
we should refrain from the usual "God bless you" (or “Gesundheit,
you heathen, you"), and instead say, “Non-Belief System bless
you!” This is the kind of behavior a loving postmodern Christian
should exhibit when charting a course through the hazardous world
of inclusion and diversity. Bono would be so proud!
Then again, the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans really
didn’t struggle with any concern about appeasing non-believers. He
laid it out in no uncertain terms by the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit that the worshiper of a “Non-Belief System” is “without
excuse” for denying God’s existence. Why? Because God is “clearly
perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things
that have been made.” Paul tells us that these people deep down
know God, but they refuse to honor Him or give Him thanks as God.
Eventually, under the weight of God’s wrath, they become futile in
their thinking, and their foolish hearts are darkened (Romans
1:21).
So with all due respect to the commencement speaker, I’m just
not willing to concede that advocates of a Non-Belief System have
a legitimate avenue for prayer and thanksgiving. Spiritual
disciplines like these have absolutely no purpose when someone
doesn’t believe there is a Cause outside himself in whom to render
thanks. The most an atheist can do in the “futility of his mind”
is lay in bed at night and say, “Thank ME."
Just imagine a nonbeliever trying to recite this Puritan prayer
from The Valley of Vision with a straight face:
O my God,
Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
my heart admires, adores, loves thee,
for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless
flow.
When I think upon and converse with thee
ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
crowding into every moment of happiness.
I bless thee for the soul thou hast created,
for adorning it, sanctifying it,
though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body thou hast given me,
for preserving its strength and vigour,
for providing senses to enjoy delights,
for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding;
for thy royal bounty providing my daily support,
for a full table and overflowing cup,
for appetite, taste, sweetness,
for social joys of relatives and friends,
for ability to serve others,
for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
I love thee above the powers of language to express,
for what thou art to thy creatures.
Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.
Wow. Even the commencement speaker would have to admit that
this prayer comes from a deep reservoir of thankfulness from which
the atheist could never draw.
According to Scripture, true thanksgiving can only flow from
the fountain of faith, and the only person who has the inclination
or ability to express gratitude for their life is the humble
believer, and specifically the professing Christian who approaches
this activity through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Only the
Christian believer is fully acknowledging the triune God and
giving praise to the One in Whom it is due. It is this Truth which
we must fearlessly evangelize throughout the world to glorify God
and bring salvation to souls, without concern for the offense it
might bring to natural man.
So here's the question: should Christians really tolerate this
current mindset of universal inclusion that is being promoted
today at the expense of the Gospel and God’s singular glory? Let
me answer this question in terms everyone can understand:
God, your Higher Power, or your Non-belief System forbid!
